Ibogaine is an indole alkaloid derived from Tabernanth iboga, a shrub of West Africa, and is used by indigenous people of that region in religious rituals. The structure of ibogaine has been determined and procedures for its synthesis have been reported (see, Buchi, et al., J. Am. Chem. Soc. 88:3099 (1966); Rosenmund, et al., Chem. Ber. 108:1871 (1975); and Huffman, et al., J. Org. Chem. 50:1460 (1985)). The chemical structure is as follows:

In 1956 Salmoiraghi and Page elucidated ibogaine's relationship to serotonin (J. Pharm. and Exp. Ther. 120(1):20–25 (1957)). About the same time Schneider published three important papers: “Potentiation Action of Ibogaine on Morphine Analgesia” (Experiential 12:323–24 (1956)); “Neuropharmacological Studies of Ibogaine: An Indole Alkaloid with Central Stimulant Properties,” (Ann. of N.Y. Acad. Sci. 66:765–76 (1957)); and “An Analysis of the Cardiovascular Action of Ibogaine HCl,” (Arch. Int. Pharmacodyn. 110:92–102 (1957)). Dhahir published a review of the pharmacology and toxicology of ibogaine in his doctoral thesis, “A Comparative Study of the Toxicity of Ibogaine and Serotonin” (University Microfilms International 71-25-341, Ann Arbor, Mich.). The thesis gives an overview of much of the work accomplished with ibogaine.
Additional studies of interest include: “The Effects of Some Hallucinogens on Aggressiveness of Mice and Rats” (Kostowski, et al., Pharmacology 7:259–63 (1972)), “Cerebral Pharmacokinetics of Tremor-Producing Harmala and Iboga Alkaloids” (Zetler, et al., Pharmacology 7(4):237–248 (1972)), “High Affinity 3H-Serotonin Binding to Caudate: Inhibition by Hallucinogenic and Serotonergic Drugs” (Whitaker, et al., Psychopharmacology 59:1–5 (1978)); “Selective Labeling Of Serotonin Receptors by d-(3H)Lysergic Acid Diethylamide in Calf Caudate” (Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci., U.S.A. 75(12):5783–87 (1978)); and “A Common Mechanism of Lysergic Acid, Indolealkylamine and Phenethylamine Hallucinogens: Serotonergic Mediation of Behavioral Effects in Rats” (Sloviter, et al., J. Pharm. Exp. Ther. 214(2):231–38 (1980)). More current work has been reported by Dzoljic, et al., “Effect of Ibogaine on Naloxone-Precipitated Withdrawal Syndrome in Chronic Morphine Dependent Rats,” (Arch. Int. Pharmacodyn., 294:64–70 (1988)).
Ibogaine administration has been reported to reduce the withdrawal symptoms associated with drug dependency and to alleviate drug cravings in addicts. It has been disclosed to be effective in the treatment of dependencies resulting from a wide range of drugs, including narcotics (U.S. Pat. No. 4,499,096); cocaine and amphetamines (U.S. Pat. No. 4,587,243); alcohol (U.S. Pat. No. 4,857,523); and nicotine/tobacco (U.S. Pat. No. 5,026,697). In addition it has been reported to be effective in patients addicted to multiple drugs and drug combinations (U.S. Pat. No. 5,152,994). Among the specific drug dependencies reportedly amenable to ibogaine treatment are heroin, cocaine, alcohol, nicotine, caffeine, amphetamine, desoxyephedrine, methadone and combinations thereof.
Other pharmacological agents that have been used in the treatment of certain types of drug addiction or dependency include naloxone and naltrexone. However, these agents typically fail to alleviate the often severe suffering that accompanies the drug withdrawal process and are generally ineffective in treating polydrug abuse or addiction. Thus, the prior art has failed to provide a completely satisfactory therapy for drug addiction or abuse and new agents and methods are clearly needed.